Serving Crits
You know, kkut, shouldn't all these goes to the world building section of the forum separate from the sign up proper?
"The literal meaning of life is whatever you're doing that prevents you from killing yourself." Albert Camus
The Prince of Foolish Relevations
Never really felt that I was using the World Building section right when I posted stuff like that, and makes more sense just to have the one area cause people would just ignore links to the manual.
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
The Fantabulous
Character sheet on its way - come on folks, don't let the gigantic intro post deter posts! 
Oh, and will there be any particular factor/plot thread linking the player characters together? Any particular place they will start?
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
The Prince of Foolish Relevations
Well, they would ultimately get involved with the Gods somehow for example. How they come together is dependent on the player, though ideally it'll involve them gathering together to confront the final boss. I have a couple of plans for Einheit and Mysteria in particular, though the players can start off wherever on the Western Continent they want. Can work with just about anything after all.
Though, if it is the bigness: The following is what you really just need to know. Many kinds of individual would work and people do have a habit of using the names of pre-existing things to refer to something else (like fortune tellers/etc calling themselves Oracles despite no relation to Temporal). In addition there is no real naming scheme and settlements/locations/etc pop up all the time across the West Continent.
Magic is closely tied to the state of one's soul, with those having incomplete or "false" souls incapable of magic. In addition, magic is essentially the soul telling the universe what to do so removing the body (either by fusing it with the soul or discarding/losing it) allows for stronger magic.
Finally, since the majority of the first post was in-universe written by a (to an extent unreliable because bias) narrator you can pretty much skip whatever chucks of information wouldn't be important to making your character. After all, reading isn't exactly common in the West for starters.
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
Interest, well, slight a least... but that is a huge intro.
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
The Fantabulous
Once you wrap your head around it it's pretty straight forward. Glad to see some, tentative interest apart from my own however!
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
insert commentary here
That is a lot to read, but it sounds really interesting. Sign me up!
The Fantabulous
- Name: Zia Fahan
- Race: Human (Marked)
- Abilities & Skills: Zia's marks have given her the power to heal injury and sickness by touch to a remarkable degree, perhaps even exceeding some of Lagoon's Cureforgers but of course nowhere near as powerful as the Goddess herself and painful to the recipient. The act of healing is highly tiring for her, particularly with more serious wounds or disease and in the case of severed limbs or the like she can only reattach recently removed appendages - regrowing an entire body part would be far too taxing under normal circumstances.
Years of healing her decaying father and studying his many biological tomes has given her impressive medical knowledge for a young woman which aids her powers apart from anything else, perhaps even giving a good idea of where to hit when she needs to. To this end her fitness, gained from fending for herself outside the cities for some years, is also a help in times of duress. Zia has some knowledge of alchemy and other magics from her father as well but not to any practical degree, more the basics of how it works without any experience. Finally, she is a skilled player of the rubāb - an instrument from the Eastern continent which her father taught her to play, perhaps in a effort to distract her but nonetheless she still enjoys in her solitary life.
- Inventory:
- Plain kitchen knife
- A well used, but good quality rubāb (smallish stringed instrument, similar to a tambur)
- Small bottle of medicinal alcohol
- Several vials of various soothing or useful herbs
- Self: Zia Fahan is a slight, flat chested young woman of relatively average height but with a wiry, athletic look that comes from fending for yourself in the wilderness for a number of years. Her skin is a light, almost ocher brown and an attractive, angular face with a sort of Eastern look although born in the west - her mark consists of three, parallel wavy lines on her right forearm, a deep reddish colour like a birthmark that she often covers with cloth or bandages so as to avoid unwanted attention. Unfortunately several shocks of unnaturally metallic silver run through her short, black-brown hair that somewhat giveaway her magical gifts to the attentive viewer, Zia's eyes are deep brown and kinder than she would like to admit.
Zia is somewhat of a hermit, living away from any human settlements, generally avoiding contact with anyone other than customers in need of healing and even then not with utmost civility. She finds humanity, or a t the very least those on this continent, repellent if not outright repulsive for her experiences with some of their less civilized members as well as their discrimination against non-humans or even 'deviant' behaviors. Many of the social taboos they have, against overt sexuality and amongst others, are viewed as bizarre and their shunning of those who do not conform crass - having grown up away from these customs with her... less than conventional family giving her values perhaps more aligned with Eastern views albeit more proactive than most of their women and extremely distrustful of Necromancers. If anything, the healer prefers the company of artificial lifeforms and other, non-human peoples partially due to being raised in the company of such golems, if not empathy for being ostracized.
To her fellow humans Zia maintains an insensitive, passive-aggressive attitude laced with sardonic humor - as unhelpful as possible if she can manage it, which others would certainly attest she is. However she still has a strong urge to assist those injured or in pain and a well hidden compassion, her issues with trusting others perhaps the main reason for her reluctance to indulge in this behavior and push others away. Zia loves music and books, often using her copious alone time to play her rubāb or read and occasionally wanders into civilization to hear others or find new texts.
Zia cares little for most of the gods though more apathetic than in anyway against them. She holds somewhat greater respect for Lagoon for obvious reasons but the increasing instances of people mistaking her for a Cureforger, or even being approached by these divine servants, is starting to wear thin.
- Backstory: Zia's father was a skilled but foolhardy necromancer from the Eastern continent who traveled to the west with the hopes of discovering new methods and applications for his 'art', quickly finding most people in the new land less than receptive to the subject matter at best. However, he heard of there being many necromancers or at least the remnants of their work residing on 'Dead Men Isle' and hence beginning his search for a means to go there. It was during this time that he fell in love with and married a Western woman, they settling on the ominous islands within a year. The woman became pregnant with Zia however during this time her father had a dispute with another necromancer on the Isle - This adversary was dealt with but not before poisoning the man. His body died but was too determined to live for his family and his work to notice, becoming a revenant.
The Necromancer cared deeply for his daughter, endeavoring to protect her from the outside world and the true, macabre nature of his work - he remembering how worried it made his wife. Nevertheless he taught Zia as much as he could and she took it in eagerly, even teaching her to play a favorite instrument from his old country to the joy of them both. Her curiosity seemed to grow faster than her body, often sneaking away from the house to explore the island or into rooms he father didn't like her delving into. He would often reprimand her for this disobedience but was ultimately a kind father and she worried about his 'illness', trying her best to repair his body and often scouring the books on medicine and anatomy to improve her skill. When she was old enough to care for herself her father would occasionally make trips for a number of days to the mainland, a place forbidden to her, but she was never alone - he having created many strange homunculi and golems that kept her company and safe for the most part, but more importantly keeping her away from father's 'study'.
The necromancer's mind was suffering, slowly but surely - more forgetful and seeming to lose his self at times, then wandering off with a hungry look in his eyes and returning hours later with something of his mind returned. When Zia was 16, during one of these instances, she managed to finally enter his study as it was left unlocked - there she found the true nature of his 'studies' and the remains of what could be victims, experiments or both. Unfortunately her father, or what was left of him by this point, returned far quicker than usual and found her invading his study. She refuses to go into detail as to what happened next, but her father died and she left for the mainland. Her first encounters in this place were not much more pleasant and after a number of months gave up on being a part of these people or their cities, making herself a hovel in the wilderness beyond one of their smaller cities.
edited 18th Sep '14 4:03:24 AM by Lt.BGob
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
insert commentary here
Is there some kind of naming system for the various races?
The Fantabulous
I don't think so - pretty sure names are whatever you like regardless of race.
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
The Prince of Foolish Relevations
Pretty much any name will work, though Elves do favor names relating to snow & ice or at the very least seem/sound related. In fact they're rather fond of Winona because of the (indirect) aid she's provided their people over their history. I suppose Cubi could have a sin name theming, but most of the bad ones were provoked into villainous behavior anyways. That and the occasional intelligent Elemental will frequently name themselves something related to their element.
Besides all that, no real naming system in place. Germanic words are mainly understood by Tinkerer only however, as he purposely gave the capital Einheit for its name to represent the fact its a place of unity. Though the West does favor awesome sounding names, based on an individual's idea of awesome anyways.
Though Gob, glad you mentioned her hair. Given the overtly magical nature of the Eastern Continent, people are frequently born with unusual eye & hair colors. In addition, the East is overall more creative than the West. Though the Westerners may lack fine art, beautiful clothing and even instruments they're quite playful with magic (which most Easterners just sees as an everyday thing).
The application is accepted by the way, though I would like to know more about (what happened to) the Humonculi & Golems along with the city she lives past. Everyone that expressed interest so far, does anything in particular need explaining to you? I have information regarding Einheit's City Guard for example, but don't want to randomly throw out info.
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
insert commentary here
What was the scandal that happened in the Capital? That's a vital part of my backstory
The Fantabulous
Sorry, I rushed the backstory a tad - I'll give you the gist. The golems and humunculi gradually 'disappeared' or fell apart over the years, at least the less complex ones did. The more sentient ones tried to defend Zia from her father when he went mad and were destroyed by him directly.
The village is located by on of the mountains edging the Grand Desert and is fairly small with many of its residents being farmers.
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
The Prince of Foolish Relevations
The scandal was that a high noble, male, had been replaced with a Humonculus double by someone obsessed with his wife. The Humonculus was to abuse her and her children, with it intended to kill the children as well. It was found out before it could murder her children, but the real kicker is that it had replaced him just before the second child was even conceived. So a murderously abusive Humonculus went undetected for ten years, and the real noble presumed long dead as well.
Though regarding the scandal some more and Einheit's City Guard. The Captain is that noble's son, named Raphael, who went through a period of vigilantism and is mostly in the Guard at all so the King (his slightly older best friend) can keep him under watch. The incident with the fake father made him obsessed with justice, and if not contained would run around trying to solve every problem he sees.
Following the incident, his little sisters (the second was adopted after one of his hero runs) became more or less the City Guard's mascots. Though his sister and mother have gotten over the event, the paranoia it brought up made mages and their creations rather feared. Magical items and Nomi are still fine though. Need anymore information, or is that enough for you?
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
Li'l Punk
Lots of interest here, though I need more time to do more than skim the world building. xD
I have a handful of character concepts to narrow down to my favorite.
Also a little concerned about how much time I have to take on another RP... any idea how fast/slow this should go? I realize it's hard to predict that, but any sort of conjecture works for me. :P
Victory! Honor! Destiny! Mutton!
The Fantabulous
Well, I don't know about everyone else but I have university so I probably will only be able to post once or twice a day at most.
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
The Prince of Foolish Relevations
Barring any random things like wanting to watch or play something, I can post at anytime. Coming up with suitable posts however varies, and I tend to make big posts. Though I'll usually wait for (almost) everyone to make a post first. I don't expect everyone to start together however, and events wouldn't be connected in the beginning anyways. So the only person you would have to worry about is me.
By the way, Raphael would be twenty-four. Should probably put up his character sheet some time. Until then I'm playing Pandora's Tower and watching Angel.
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
Here's another potential character, for use as an NPC (if something happens) or possibly my PC.
- Name: The Dread Thing, aka Journeyman Krait or Tenny Twigcarver
- Race: Wight (former elf & human)
- Abilities & Skills: Two master enchanters share the same body. One is a wiz at golems and the other commands biological magic. Both regret not studying more about soul-magic and try to prevent the other from doing so at any risk (even above learning it personally).
Their patchwork body had countless abilities that are more frequently sabotaged than they are available, but its unnatural strength and endurance rarely changes. Their ghostly powers are more constant, with both able to use their magic freely and undistorted, yet only a few feet from the body inhabited by the other. - Inventory:
- Two chest cavities where lungs used to be are covered by hinged doors much like a cabinet, and filled with mechanical tools of high quality or multifunctional symbiotic organisms beyond the understanding of all but the most skilled of biomages. They are frequently bought or sold depending on the current inhabitant.
- Possibly the only thing that neither messes with is their bag of disguises, a necessity when attempting to hide their horribly scarred and mutilated form.
- Equipment stolen or salvaged from those who most recently attacked them, often sold when no longer of use.
- Self: Standing from 4 to 7 feet (it varies) is a rune-tattooed, grotesque biped. Two enchanters' souls war with each-other over a monstrosity that used to be their original bodies. It's more or less humanoid or elfoid, depending on who you ask, though it shifts over time as it is "improved" by one soul or the other, becoming more synthetic or organic the longer one is in the body. As only one is ever in control of the body at any time, the monster often has the outward appearance of a split personality and perpetual haunting. As the other is more or less a ghost, anchored to the body and prone to mischief in a limited radius, all directed at putting the other soul into shock and allowing them to regain control.
- Krait is a brash young craftsmage who refuses to give up his life, he often justifies himself by claiming it's his life that he's fighting for, but in reality stems from not wanting to "loose" yet another competition. He has dedicated himself to defeat his foe utterly after she destroyed everything his master had left behind.
- Tenny is a conniving ancient witch, driven by a fear of death and dreams of power. She does have a soft spot for natural life and has sworn vengeance for the ashen fields that were once her forest home, razed in a fit of rage by her nemesis.
- Backstory: Krait was a precocious prodigy of all things artificial with a penchant for Golems, he was a young merchant-class elf on the rise to fame & fortune, until his longtime Noodle Incident-Rival Princess Snowleaf hired assassins to murder his master and pin the blame on him. Tenny Twigcarver was an ancient crone renowned for her skill at manipulating all life except her own, due to an early failed ritual. She thought she had finally found a spell to steal the youth of a long lived elf for herself and in the deep of night, stole into the only lit shop of an elven castle-town.
Krait was caught drunk, mourning his master when Tenny appeared to propose a bargain, promising him all her knowledge in exchange for some of his youth; the deal would have worked, with Krait dead and Tenny finally young again were it not for the golems disguised as armor-stands interrupting the ritual as he called out in shock and pain when she stole more of his life than promised. The fight was joined by her own monsters and the resultant combat between the two enchanters' bodyguards of flesh and metal spilled into the ritual circle, the combined magics getting out of hand and trapping the two inside, rapidly loosing their life force as it was converted to great plumes of magic that ripped through the workshop. Working together, they sealed the breach and patched together a single tattered shell as best they could with what was left of their bodies and guards.
Over the years that followed they've fought constantly, never letting up outside nervous & shallow sleeping, or once when they were caught up in a major flood to rescue villagers trapped beneath fields of muck. Over time a number of Monster Hunters have sought glory in defeating The Dread Thing and just as many mages have had a go at separating the two with little success.
Remembering the gathering of the gods will happen soon, current-body-controller Tenny has started in the direction of the nearby West Continent Capital, hoping that some opportunity may present itself; opposed is the gods-ignorant Krait, simply because he knows she wants to go there.
EDIT 1: typos/cleaning
EDIT 2: altered backstory
edited 19th Sep '14 12:56:27 PM by justanid
Never Trust
Wow. That's...a lot to absorb. Question about the title, are our characters going to wind up serving a god? Because that's what the title suggests. Are there priesthoods, because I'm considering a priest type character.
edited 19th Sep '14 11:53:01 AM by tricksterson
Trump delenda est
The Prince of Foolish Relevations
It depends, but I did choose the title since the players are ultimately intended to help the Gods. Regarding priests, the West has more Christian-like priests (nuns!) while the East has more Asiany ones (mikos!). Most Western priesthoods don't have official connections to the Gods, while Eastern priesthoods are more about balance than worship. The East don't worship the Western Gods though, and plenty of Easterners just think they're absurdly powerful Humonculi than true divinity. Course, an entire collection of Gods just outright ignoring you for centuries doesn't really build trust and respect.
Speaking of Elven royalty, they had static rulership when they still lived in their kingdom. The king was an elderly ice mage while the princess was a beatiful young woman. When the Frost Dragon attacked the king died and the princess was frozen by it, leaving the elves without leadership. Since the king was powerful, elves as a people commonly go for the strongest since it makes them feel safer. Though what do you mean by "possibly" your PC?
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
Possibly as in "pending approval", I should have just typed that; such as it not working for a PC by being technically two characters or something. I'd only read half your awesome Wall of Text before finishing and wasn't sure if I'd run into a snag, like all the ice-elves being communists and never having royalty, or in this case, them being frozen in ice. ![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Changed it to "princess" instead of queen, not sure how old that would make them though.
The Prince of Foolish Relevations
The application is fine, and really the only thing I won't approve of is someone being even more powerful than the Gods. Though I would prefer only one "main" character per player, but I won't stop anyone wanting to do more. Given the vastness of the world I'm perfectly okay with people controlling and creating "NP Cs".
I would say an Elf can live anywhere between two hundred and four hundred years depending on how magical they are. They stop aging usually in their twenties, but some stop sooner while others never stop aging (but age slower to make up). Queen would be a term they picked up after leaving their kingdom anyways, which they mainly use to refer to a married ruler. Though I would say if they were rivals then Snowleaf can't be much older than Krait.
Regarding royalty, the West's rule is mainly composed of random nobles and nobles officially in charge of things (thus royalty). The East has a singular ruler and then random individuals that govern things for him (or sometimes her). The West pretty much does whatever, while The East obeys their emperor (empress is technically a supportive role there, so the husband of a female emperor would be called an empress). The majority of The West's nobility & royalty is there because of their power, influence, or because others want them there. The East's ruler is descended from a common ancestor, and nobody from outside the family can ever become ruler unless marrying someone already biologically part of the family.
Is there anything else you need to know for now? Since the application is approved you could elaborate on your intended plans some.
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
The Fantabulous
Where is the capital located in relation to everything else? It's not very clear...
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
The Prince of Foolish Relevations
Knew I forgot to mention something, and it would be located at the center of the Western Continent. In addition, shops tend to close as the Divine Gathering approaches (especially magic shops) partially because of Gateway's, Memoria's and Schizo's habit of collecting items leaving nothing valuable for the mortals to buy (the latter two pretty much steals from them). Places like taverns stay open while the City Guard greatly increases their efforts to make sure nothing goes wrong. Places of learning or worship also see an increase of visitors, usually people just trying to secure their own safety.
Mysteria and Gnomepolis in turn aren't too far away from The Grand Desert, with Gnomepolis being closer to Einheit than Mysteria. Eclipse Parade is in the eastern region, and being far enough away from the western region that its only a vague dot in the distance. Though its also distanced from Frozenspine Mountain, and is ultimately closer to Einheit than Frozenspine. Finally Tinkerer's mountain palace isn't too far away from Einheit, while Raze's and Schizo's palaces are rather isolated.
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
Quick explanation: The Gods' Champions is mainly a fantasy setting, using concepts from our world but still its own thing. The RP will start one week till the annual gathering of the Gods, always held in the West Continent's capital. While fully acknowledged as powerful immortals, the time leading up to a Divine Gathering sees increases in crime and violence due to authority being preoccupied & individuals wanting the divine powers themselves. Of particular note however is the mysterious appearance of violent Humonculi all across the West Continent, having first appeared earlier in the month. No one is sure why they're appearing, but some claim that a Demon (considered purely fictional) is involved.
Though, while the Gods aren't exactly evil, many aren't exactly heroic either. Thus some claim that Gods must be responsible instead. Regardless of what is responsible, the fact they're so powerful and appear without warning implies someone powerful backing them. In addition to the rising crime rate and resultant panic of these events, this Divine Gathering is certain to end badly.
So, while it can be told the "Wild Humonculi" is a major storyline there's also a fair deal of other plots to follow and you can spin your own as well (though the basic core for my plots is to stop badness, such as a Mysterian Serial Killer or Frost Dragon). In addition, while I'll list a good deal of information it's set so basically whatever can be done. Speaking of, pass this line the information is considered in-universe to a degree thus not automatically accurate or the full story (though they do have inferior writing & reading in-universe).
__________________________________________________
The Western Gods:
Raze: Undisputedly known as the oldest God, his hatred and disdain of humanity is equally as old. His name was obtained when he obliterated the hedonistic city of Nebulous, calling down truly violent lightning to do so. Whilst his reasons for destroying Nebulous are unknown, he rarely leaves his mountainous palace since only coming down for the meetings or to exact punishment on those that wronged his "siblings". Though despite his status as the oldest God, he is one of the physically younger ones resembling a sixteen old male with golden hair & eyes. His attire, however, is barely more than golden bracers and a pair of pants due to nearly always being in a werewolf form. Finally, should someone drive him to great rage Raze will take on the form of a gigantic wolf composed of lightning, a form he frequently uses when destroying entire settlements (which is actually quite rare).
Winona: Known as the Goddess of Love due to her kindness and compassion she is nonetheless a bit too naive as she'll selflessly help anyone. However, unlike her "brother" Raze, she'll continuously overlook humanity's wrongs as she believes their heroic nature is ultimately superior than their evil. Though sometimes she'll express remorse and sadness regarding her siblings' acts, frequently stating they should be helping humanity. Despite this belief, she is mostly a stationary Goddess as she dwells within the peaks of the Frozenspine Mountain and only comes down during the day to converse with the citizens & travelers of the towns surrounding its base. When she climb down from the mountain, she's always found wearing a white dress with snowflake-like patterns that she claims a kind old man made for her centuries ago. Besides the dress, one knows they're in her presence when they spot a fifteen year old girl with snowy white hair and innocently icy blue eyes. Though, when the need arises she can assume the form of a large nine-tailed fox.
Tinkerer: While an eccentric and forgetful God, his mind is either so keen or incomprehensibly mad he can use just about anything to forge some marvelous tool no normal mortal could understand the construction. Using metals as his main material, he'll effortlessly bend and reshape them to his design. Though, wishing to improve humanity despite stewing about in some labyrinthine base as he constantly invents new wonders he has recruited mortals to aid him. Turning the current capital into the most advanced city as a result, he is their Patron God who very much makes it his business to aid the people there. When he's not producing wonders, the fully armored twenty-something will perform experimentations. The result of one gone awry gave him the "ability" to assume a monstrous form, usually when he becomes sufficiently enraged.
Flare: Referred to as The Infernus Knight, she is a serious yet apathetic goddess who prefers to let anointed servants do her work instead... Unless her interests of battle and knighthood are involved, resulting in a goddess now burning with passion. Thus when she isn't sitting on her palace throne, she's typically acting as some lord's knight underneath guises provided by magical items. Though she'll lose herself to the thrill, eventually revealing her true nature as flames blaze all around the battlefield. Her true form however is a simply armored red haired twenty-two year old woman, commonly with four fiery wings projected from her back. Beneath the fiery wings however is a large tattoo of a closed eyed woman holding a longsword, and the realistic nature of it almost makes one think Flare sealed someone inside her. When it starts glowing however, four wings made of swords and bound by flames appear behind her back whilst her entire body becomes adorned with red armor. In this state she is more levelheaded and far less apathetic, with superior attributes yet it lasts a short time.
Shine: Frequently proposed to be what an Angel would look like, the right side of his body is composed of light with a feathery-like wing stretching out as well. Though, in direct opposition to the race he supposedly represents, he is a very impulsive and chaotic God who utterly enjoys messing with individuals who practice Light magic. Frequently performing extravagant displays of his power or sheer destructive chaos, he can never be bothered to act subtly due to an apparent psychological need to show off. Though when he isn't tormenting Light mages with the fact they could never approach his mastery, he's genuinely impressed by those with the devotion to try. Of note, when a magical experiment with light went wrong he quickly claimed the now bizarre land as his domain.
Bestial: Capable of controlling any creature, she holds great compassion for them. She makes it her duty to tend to the creatures of the wild, and has even made her territory a safe haven for them. While she doesn't detest humans, she has no respect for their mortal laws and mutates all her human servants into more animal-like forms. In addition, she has become known as the Goddess of Vengeance due to inflicting punishment on those that have wronged others. While this makes her and her servants valued by the less fortunate, she'll exact vengeance for anyone she sympathizes with. Her appearance, however, is that of a young woman with silted yellow eyes and brown hair. Besides her eyes only her pointed ears hint at her nature, though when needed she can assume the form of any creature.
Somber: Possessing the visage of the mythological Demon, the left side of his body is composed of darkness with a singular bat-like wing. Though, while demons are often described as amoral beings, his calm and orderly nature is more befitting the fictional Angel. Unlike his "brother" Shine, he keeps his displays of powers rather subdued or practical seeing no need in pointlessly showing off. While not a very humorous entity, he coldly makes it his mission to imprison and guard threats too powerful for mortalkind to deal with such as immortals. He shuns social interaction outside of correlating with mortal authority, though has a very small handful of servants to moderate his "prison kingdom". Of note, is that whenever he believes a threat is too much for him he'll seek out his "brother" Shine to perform a fusion dance together.
Thorn: While seemingly a fourteen year old girl with green eyes and rosy hair, her innocent appearance belies her true nature as a heroic Goddess. One of the more renown gods, she primarily uses her power over nature to bring beauty to the world... When she isn't immobilizing villains. Unlike some of her fellow gods, she's a very reasonable individual that understands the mortals she would be affecting by her actions. Since she primarily adheres to mortal laws, she has made pacts with other powerful entities such as the physical manifestation of Death itself to perform more individual-level aid. Though when she isn't socializing with humans or coordinating heroism with her allies she can be found dwelling in one of the numerous forests she has made.
Gateway: Occasionally referred to as "The Wandering Hero", "Opener of Paths", and "Collector of Magic" he has a very prolific history of adventures that makes him a very famous individual. Constantly seeking out new adventures, he holds back his own power so that things will be interesting. Thus only opening portals, he'll fight using his skills and whatever items are on his person. He has explored the Western Continent extensively, and has even ventured beyond the "unending" sea at times. Though he has constantly collected items from his travels, no one has actually been able to confirm if he does have a residence to store them. Briefly answering such questions by claiming his palace is completely awesome, many have speculated that his realm must not even be on the continent. Though, while he's usually a fun-loving guy, he'll suddenly be draped in armor when he stops joking around (he's never serious however).
Nano: One of the least known gods, she deliberately hides her true nature so that she may pretend to be human. Her non-unique appearance aids in this desire as most believe her simply a young woman. However, because of her desire to "be human" she'll at best use her powers subtly to help others if her true nature hasn't been revealed. While some of her "siblings" cannot understand her desire to be human, she feels great shame in being associated with battlefield terrors like Raze & Flare due to her pacifist nature. She is hardly a coward however, using her ability to alter sizes when there is no one else qualified to stop crime or defeat evil.
Sanguine: Whenever one hears his name, panic will quickly overcome individuals due to the tales they've heard of "The Bedeviled God". While these tales are indeed true to an extent, The Bedeviled God is an uncontrolled personality awakened whenever he consumes blood. His true personality is a much nicer individual who tries to peacefully interact with others, but every settlement he goes to will eventually want him to leave due to their reasonable paranoia that The Bedeviled God would awaken. Though unlike Nano, he makes no attempts to blend in with humans and instead unashamedly travels in his true vampiric form (complete with visible fangs even). In addition to his crimson hair and black eyes, Sanguine likes to stand out wherever he goes and thus wears outfits like a billowing cape & goldish armguard for example.
Memoria: Having admitted long ago to personally selecting her name, the Goddess of Thieves is a self-righteous and envious being who will steal anything she wants. While she does specialize in taking & forging memories as her name suggests, she has been known to take things like voices or precious items even lifespans at times. Though, she is far from evil and has frequently used her abilities for good. However, she is overall a self-interested Goddess who won't think twice about stealing from or manipulating even her best friends. Of final note, due to her impressive hoard and gathered collection of stolen physical concepts no one is sure what is her true form as she'll use stolen voices & appearances freely.
Temporal: Master of time itself, he has taken a non-interference stance regarding mortal affairs only really leaving his de-synced domain to fix the fabric of time. Though, while he doesn't casually interfere with existence he frequently recruits intellectual mortals to aid him with recording the events of history. He completely refuses to tell anyone about the future however, and when he does "answer" it is nearly always deranged laughter or confirms nothing (personally though I think that's funny when it happens). However, he has a rather distressing habit of appearing in an location just before a major significant event happens. Finally, while he does constantly alter his age his blonde hair and hourglass shaped irises are a dead giveaway. Though his body will turn completely golden if he needs to make his annoyance obvious.
Kinetic: Dressed in whitish silver clothing to go with her greyish silver hair and eyes, she has total manipulation of movement. Quite fittingly, she's always traveling and is a rather care-free Goddess who'll help when requested. She's also very famous for her bottomless stomach, having sampled various foods across the Western continent and always keen on resurrecting or improving meals that she liked. However, what she is truly famous for is creating the basic rules of Magic and has been constantly studying so she can further contribute to its development. In addition, once she takes a fight or event very seriously she forms her self-described "Mistress of the Arcane" attire which is mainly just fancy robes.
Schizo: Only his black hair is really uncovered, with the rest of his body completely clad in black with belts binding the sleeves to his limbs. However, his face is adorned with a simple white mask without a single crack to show the face beneath. In fact, Schizo is always seen with his mask on to the point even his fellow Gods don't know what is hidden. Even those who reportedly claim to have seen Schizo's face all give different accounts, leaving the distinct impression he doesn't want anyone to know. Since he lacks a directly destructive ability, Schizo commonly collects magical items to make up. Schizo doesn't like to be disturbed by humanity however, making his home in a mountainous region so nobody would bother him. He'll survey from there to find interesting mortals to watch though, occasionally making some ageless just so they can keep doing what they do best. He'll never intentionally bless murderers & the like however, and when bored enough will even aid humanity in solving crimes.
Empathy: Reasonably feared through the West Continent due to her dominance over emotions, nobody is entirely sure of her true personality due to easily switching between emotions herself. Though, since few have actually meant Empathy in person what she actually does with her immortal life is uncertain though she's commonly claimed to write. However it is generally accepted she wears a color-changing dress, and comments from other Gods claim she uses enchanted mirrors to spy on others. Thus sudden changes in mood are believed to be her doing, suggesting a bizarre mindset as individuals curse her name for making them suffer.
Sahara: Even less fond of humans than Raze, he always wears stone armor with a draconian visage because he doesn't believe they deserve to see his true form. Though unlike Raze, he exerts complete dominance over the desert region because he doesn't want any of the monsters escaping or being used to harm mortalkind. Thus nobody is allowed to enter or leave the desert without his permission (though he does give fancy rocks as consolation), having selected what few humans he actually tolerates to enforce his will. He does however allow Somber to run his "prison kingdom" in the desert, who both consider it pragmatic. Interestingly, a giant serpentine stone dragon is Sahara's main means of transportation. The exact nature is vague however, as the dragon seems autonomous yet will form wherever Sahara calls on it.
Lagoon: Wrapped in a long blue dress, with shimmering eyes pure like spring water, and draped with long blue hair she presents a calm smile to all. Forging a small palace from water, she is considered a blessed Goddess indeed for providing shelter to those in need or curing those in pain. She has even enlisted the aid of humans to bring back those that humanity cannot cure themselves. Though, some question why she is so generous and others still question her even when she simply states helping is what she does. She keeps a large collection of fish swimming through her palace's structure however, both a convenient source of food and very impressive.
Breeze: Dressed in attire fitting a noble, the grey haired twenty year old is a rather friendly person. Frequently preparing and throwing parties for others to attend, he commonly invites other Gods over to help make the parties fun. Though, besides throwing parties he's rather privy to human society and frequently uses his godly status to force societal changes that he's fond of. However, those that see him as a "instant-win card" will quickly anger him if he doesn't like their plans. Once two spikey wings erupt from his back and his eyes turn black with red pinpricks, then one knows he's enraged.
Trickster: Known by all as basically a malicious prankster, It lives to completely and utterly screw with people's brains. It will even occasionally mess with the other Gods, even making its default form resemble Schizo. The exact gender of Trickster is unknown due to its shape-shifting and illusion-weaving nature, casually switching through forms of both as it pleases. It however claims to be male on a regular basis, usually while freaking someone out with how well a woman it makes. In addition, It typically recruits "servants" just to have someone on hand when it wants to try out new illusions on something. Though it doesn't ever kill or permanently terrify someone, as in its own words "they're no fun then".
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General Information
Alchemy: Specialization of magic that is primarily about creating potions or forging runes, it is used by more devoted Mages to ready or perform complex spells without exhausting their bodies by directly channeling the magic energy. While potions are simply liquid infused with magical energy, runes are physical symbols used to channel magic energy into different spells. While the symbol isn't directly important to the effect, the symbols are usually an image that's evocative for the Alchemist of the intended effect (with more complex runes a common result of more complex spells). However, all runes are made within circles and the size of the circle affects the spell (smaller = weaker, bigger = stronger). Once a rune has been infused by the Alchemist's will, the rune will become confused if the symbol is altered resulting in changed effects. Sometimes this simply means it stops working, though more often it'll explode or do something unexpected (in extremely bad cases even produce Wight Zones).
Biology: While the natural size and shape of one's body represents the strength & concentration of their soul, humans possess common traits. Skin coloration, for example, varies from alabaster to a dark brown. Hair is commonly different shades of brown (common), black, blonde and ginger (rarest) whilst eyes are commonly blue/green/brown (most common). While it isn't certain how one's bodily colors affects or reflects their souls, though with unusual ones (such as red eyes or blue hair) have obviously been affected or created by magic if not descended from one who was.
Divine Servants: Mainly mortals that do not inherently possess magic (due to Mana Mixing concerns), a God's Divine Servant is commonly given a small copy of their liege's power at no cost of their own. Having swore complete loyalty to their lord, those that betray the Gods they serve are considered horrible by everyone for being crazy enough to do so. However, those that stay faithful are often envied by others. Divine Servants will commonly act like proxies or do as their god wills, though some generally do whatever when their god has nothing for them. Since Servants are mainly recruited at random or from chance encounters, some Gods otherwise not known for Servants have blessed individuals before in the past. Though, besides Gateway, those were mostly one-off deals or a fate worse than death. In addition, an individual can only be blessed once though any children they have will inherit the blessing.
Golem: Constructed from physical presences and held together with magic, damaging or destroying their Core (the focus for the magic animating them) will eventually kill them. Golems are commonly mindless servants obeying the wills of humanity, frequently used for manual labor to do the jobs no one else wants to. However, the intelligence and free-will of a Golem can vary if their creator wants them to be more than mindless servants. Golemcraft is also commonly used to create functional puppets or dolls, even produce self-operating toys like spinning tops. In fact Golemcraft is even used to replace missing body parts, though as a result some tear apart their own bodies to become some kind of demi-Golem.
Humonculi: Artificial life born from magic, they are made in three main ways: Through biology magic (typically has internalized abilities), condensing raw mana (a very complicated process), or souls (commonly has external abilities). Though Humonculi can be created in many different ways and come in all kinds of forms, most practitioners stick to relatively simple ones. While they commonly have special powers, they're normally incapable of learning external magic unless intentionally designed by a skilled mage (magical items work just fine however). In fact Humonculi lack true souls, and when one dies their body fades away. The magical energy can be scooped back up and reforged, but the Humonculus that was can never be resurrected. Nobody is quite sure how a Humonculus' soul differs from true ones, but since they are effectively a single continuous spell none find it strange they fade upon death.
Magic: The force used to manipulate reality, the laws of magic is thus: One must understand what they're trying to manipulate, and one must be precise to avoid unintentional elements when weaving a spell. Trying to cast spells without knowing what you're manipulating often ends badly, though just as frequently the spell fails outright. In addition, spells commonly need appropriate resources to power it (such as bio-spells needing organic matter). However, because learning to properly channel magical energy (often something one has to learn on their own) and conducting study are time-consuming tasks many "practitioners" of magic only know a handful of spells. Those that actually make it their life often end up respected for their knowledge and devotion. It is, however, common enough that nearly everyone has heard about if not seen magic.
Mana Mixing: Each magical substance, individual or spell has its own unique signature. When two or more different signatures come together, the signatures will effectively try to overpower the other. While sometimes signatures get overpowered, more often they mix to form a hybridized or brand new result. For example, using fire & ice spells together could produce steam or end up creating a short-range explosion. This mixing of magical signatures also applies to children, and this phenomenon is how many races originate. Though, similar signatures (such as belonging to a specific race) will mainly balance out though it does mean the resultant signature will take traits from its parents (such as a child Fireball spell possessing fastness and power, though not to the extent of the parent in question).
Marks: Strange symbols that random individuals are born with, these marks denote someone born with a piece of special magic. Marks commonly hint in some way at the magic an individual has, such as a clawed hand implying they can transmute their hands to more subtle or confusing things like wavy lines. Each individual commonly has their own unique Mark, so there's no proper way to tell what magic someone has until they perform it. Though, the Marked have to manually figure out what their special magic is so many such individuals never master or even learn their magic. They are naturally adept at learning magic though, and many special gifts are something bizarre or useless like pulling other people into your dreams anyways. However, it is also known some Marked end up with a truly powerful gift and it is even treated as fact that a Marked was responsible for developing Necromancy.
Necromancy: The forbidden magic, Necromancers pervert life by reanimating its remains while destroying souls to fuel their spells. Those that practice the art illegally are fated a horrible execution, while most legal "Necromancers" are only allowed to perform very basic spells (like pulling an almost deceased person's soul back into their body or making a corpse talk). Though, many still pursue the path of Necromancy since using souls allows them to bypass the first law of magic. However, because they have extremely short lifespans once they start using people for magical resources they'll try to extend their forfeited life. They're also infamously known for conducting experiments, such as producing new lifeforms or ascertaining the limitations of souls.
Nomi: Known as Naturally Occurring Magical Items, they were once ordinary lifeless objects that transformed by passively absorbing magical energy. For an item to qualify, it needs to have been used by someone and the stored emotions will influence its change. For example, a weapon used to kill countless people will become demonic whilst a pendant used to focus will clear one's mind. The more emotional energy an item contains, the stronger it will become while more emotions overall results in more effects. Though, the rate at which Nomi are produced depends on how much magical energy is absorbed with some taking hundreds of years and others mere hours.
Reaper: The personification of Death itself and manager of all departed souls, it cares about nothing but assuring souls aren't destroyed. The exact reason why the Reaper wants the souls intact is unknown, but since destroying them makes one deader than dead many assume that reason. Though, it is known to destroy the souls of Necromancers presumably so their souls can't continue destroying others. However, since it only cares about assuring the soul's safety the Reaper could care less about your body's safety. While its visage is obscured by red belts and white cloth, what little of its visible right arm implies a skeletal figure. Of final note, it carries an amorphous weapon which it commonly uses to tear out souls or decay bodies.
Shells: Occasionally, when a soul is removed from a body, it leaves just enough scraps to still live but completely lacks all motivation and emotion. No longer seen as people, Shells are effectively treated as living dolls since they have zero will of their own. However, Shells retain nearly all of their memories and since they have the remnants of a soul it is possible for a Shell to generate a new one. Though, generating their replacement souls requires them being forced into events that demand emotions or complex thoughts to happen. Thus, while riskier and more complex, it is easier to just fill it in using magic. Shells will occasionally reject the soul graft though, possibly even becoming worst off as a result.
Souls: The thing that is life, the Soul is composed of two parts: The Spirit (which lets one have emotions) and The Mind (which lets one have will). Souls are housed inside bodies since they're commonly not strong enough to interact with the mortal plane otherwise, and the bodies also records their memories. Since Souls are born within the bodies that they are, bodies will try to reject any foreign soul that tries to control it. Souls can freely enter bodies that aren't tailored to any however, such as suits of armor or weapons for example. When it comes to the manual creation of souls, magical/emotional/mental energy has to be gathered (though a simulacrum would be easier). Since manually creating a soul is more consuming than repairing & harvesting pre-existing ones few bother. In addition, Souls that are strong enough to interact without a physical body are commonly referred to as ghosts since they're assumed to have lost their body first.
Wights: More or less a fancy way of saying "thing", Wights are generally anything that exists... yet should not be. Common examples of Wights are things that utterly defy reality such as non-magical creatures that should by all rights not work, or an area using its own twisted rules. Though, since it is a term used to refer to things that simply are Wight is frequently used by individuals to describe something unknown to them (using phrases like "Wight Zone", "Wight Item", and so on). Occasionally even the Gods themselves will be described as wights, existing without a clear origin of any kind.
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Geography:
Eclipse Parade: The name Shine has given his magically warped domain, to the outside it looks like a giant sphere of darkness. On the inside, however, beams of light solidify into conspicuously floating bars and Shine took advantage of this to construct a brilliant city to stand out against the darkness. Deciding the result was impressive, he opened it to all who wish to come. The end result is a festive place of amusement, loss (don't ever gamble here), and the occasional tournament.
Einheit: Suggested by Tinkerer one day to the royals of the capital to be the official name, they accepted because they saw no reason not to. While nobody is quite sure what Einheit is supposed to mean, it is a rather unified city that offers an incredible variety of things. In addition, because of Tinkerer's technology being used to improve the city all kinds of individuals come to Einheit in order to study the technologies or to present their own. Regarding his improvements, an advanced plumbing system has been established across the entire city with the waste being efficiently eliminated in the process. Besides that, broadcasting systems have been established in places of authority to deliver quick announcements as well as send some mechanical birds to deliver metal parchment to selected individuals. Though, because of a scandal ten years ago all magical creations and practitioners visiting have been viewed critically.
Frozenspine Mountain: Located in the West Continent's eastern region, is a massive "mountain" of ice and snow made by Winona that is also the only place snow ever falls. Known to house the remains of the Elf's ancient kingdom, travelers rarely try climbing it due to a somewhat unstable ground and because a dragon sleeps inside the ancient kingdom. However claims of treasure draws many adventurers there regardless, backed by records from Elfs that many things were left behind including the palace's entire vault. Though, whenever a deep rumbling sounds means the dragon has claimed more victims.
Gnomepolis: Once an ordinary village, a mysterious plague affected it fifty years ago. With their people too weak to search out aid, they started producing Golems to bring back help. As their conditions worsened their inhabitants could barely fend for themselves, producing more complex Golems just to help their daily lives. By the time help arrived the outsiders initially thought they found the wrong one due to the realistically humanoid golems populating the village. Once the survivors began to recover, they reviewed the designs and Golems made. Hearing about the simplicity of other Golems ultimately convinced the survivors to make a business producing them, becoming the "City of Stone" in the process.
Mysteria: One of the West's major cities, it is also the center of magic that all aspiring Mages go to study the arcane arts. Thus devoted to the usage of magic, nearly everyone that lives there does something regarding magic such as maintaining the upkeep of Golems or using Legalized Necromancy to help solve crimes. However, those who can't deal with magic end up having to look for outside employment and magical items sell for less there. Mysteria is also frequently contacted by Somber as his main means of keeping up-to-date with human society.
The Dead Men Isles: Collection of several islands grouped close, they acquired the name due to Necromancers fleeing there to continue their crimes and avoid the Reaper. Eventually being found by Reaper regardless, various abandoned experiments roam the Isles along with the occasional survivor. In fact a secondary reason its called The Dead Men Isles is because of shipwrecks. So while not very fertile ground, there's plenty of food and drinks scattered about.
The Eastern Continent: Relatively unknown to us, official trading began only fifty years ago. They are known to have magic of their own however, and much more skilled at it then us. They also produce exquisite clothing and art, which is their common export. Curiously though, there's rarely any female traders and reports claim that mainly men deal with manual labor from what little of their culture can be discerned from their port cities. The fact they have their own language makes further interaction difficult, and thus people from both continents limit themselves to the port cities.
The Eternal Sea: Having originally gained its name due to the sheer vastness of it, everyone believed there wasn't anything else out there. In addition to sea-dwelling monsters, it was considered complete idiocy to go out there. Thus for centuries sea-faring travel was ignored, with priority instead on making sure aquatic monsters didn't try to invade the land. Though while it was known as a place of fear, fishermen would go out there because of belief there's new and exciting fish. Indeed true, what few settlements there were near the seaside soon got to taste the new delicacies. Eventually, some fishermen decided even more exciting fish could be caught at different areas of the sea. With the approval of this, we began receiving reports of small landmasses and ultimately the Eastern & Northern continents.
The Frozen Wastes: Otherwise known as the Northern Continent, when it was first discovered sailors were completely confused by all the snow & ice and actually thought they were cast through time to a period where Goddess Winona must of frozen the Western Continent. The initial exploration didn't last long due to monster complications, and only after being deemed by Temporal's servants to not have traveled time did the sailors believe it was a new Continent. Though attempts to return often fail, and even when someone survives to make multiple trips the landscape is claimed to change each time. Exploration is also severely hindered by the fully recognized monster problem, leaving few inclined to actually seek the Frozen Wastes as they've become known.
The Grand Desert: Composing over fifty percent of the Western Continent's western region, is a blistering hot area called a Desert by Tinkerer. There are no real settlements in the Grand Desert other than Sahara's and Somber's domains, though strange ruins & relics can be found. Outside of these strange places are even worst creatures, ranging from the simple carnivorous sand worms to bizarre Wights like skittering organic trees composed of a million feline-like insects. Thus the only two kinds of people crazy enough to enter are treasure-hunters or criminals that can't go anywhere else.
The Underworld: The place all souls collected by the Reaper go, it is a realm where bodiless souls can freely interact. It gained the name of Underworld due to the cavernous, stony nature and complete lack of sunlight. Most of the illumination is provided by the shimmering figures of souls and the strange glow of the water there. Though, once a soul is brought to the Underworld they need explicit permission of the Reaper to leave. In addition, since some necromancers are simply too dumb to live it is claimed things will attack any intruders. While the validity of this can't be confirmed by mortality, anyone trying to enter the Underworld uninvited is never seen again.
The Western Continent: The land that we live on, the sheer size of it means most people will never see the ocean. Though, over the years an impressive number of events and shenanigans have built up making exploring the Continent a constant series of new adventures. There's not many trees or bodies of water naturally, with mainly flatlands and mountains scattered between the various settlements (with terrain becoming more mountainous and rocky the closer to the Grand Desert). Though, this also means entire areas easily stand out making navigating rather easy. For example, places like Shine's Eclipse Parade or Frozenspine Mountain are nigh-impossible not to see from afar.
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Western Culture:
Crime: Done in defiance of basic decency and/or laws, it includes petty things like entering someone's home and rearranging everything to serious offenses like soul destruction. Most crimes are primarily large-scale or planned out however with petty criminals mainly seen as idiots. Criminals are commonly given a punishment befitting them though, ranging from inflicting the crime in question on them to something disabling their inclination (like having a seal preventing their magic). However, they stop short of killing murderers though those that destroy souls won't even be considered human as they're judged.
Equality: Of all creatures on the continent, humanity on average only really cares about themselves. While we're a unified species, non-humans are commonly used for our own gain such as milking bovines or training canines to hunt for us. Other sentient lifeforms are generally treated based on their nature, such as Elves being accepted due to their peaceful inclination whilst Vampires are hated due to preying on any creature (such as humans) to satisfy their hunger. In general, violent & cruel species are seen as monsters while kind species are seen more or less the same as us. Though, as one becomes progressively less human they in turn are seen as less than human. Created species, on the other hand, are commonly treated based on what their creators say.
Gender: Based off of physical characteristics, individuals are either deemed Male or Female. Males are considered more expendable than Females, but since Males are required to produce children they're important nonetheless. Since women host developing children, they're commonly trained far more than men to fend for themselves. However, besides these basic biological differences no real sociological difference is made between the two.
Law: System of rules constructed to ease interaction and promote order, the most known law is not to invade another's life (such as obsessive stalking or stealing). The most enforced law is not to commit Evil, as punishments for evil are extremely severe. Beyond those, other laws are commonly things like "don't overthrow authority" or "don't attempt high-tier magical experiments" that anyone with common sense shouldn't even be thinking anyways.
Maturity: From the day a child is born, their life is managed by their parents until they reach the age of fourteen. Being deemed old enough to fend for themselves, one's consent will be deemed valid and no longer have to obey their parents' guidance. Official adulthood is marked at the age of sixteen, due to being the general timeframe puberty is done. Sixteen years old is also when parents are no longer expected to aid their child, and even if the child wasn't as mature as they should of been going alone is seen as a good way for someone to mature.
Morality: While common knowledge, the basics of morality will be explained regardless. The base requirement for Goodness is not to invalidate the effort of others, such as robbing from people or enslaving them. Invalidating the efforts of others is not evil, though can often be deemed cruel or horrible. Evil, however, is any action that perverts the sacred concept of life such as defiling corpses or destroying souls. Everything that doesn't fit under one of those terms would either be termed Heroism (actively helping others), Neutrality (only doing what one wants), or Villainous (intentionally antagonizing or harming others). However, the morality of actions is based on the motivation for why. Thus someone stealing to aid others will be considered Heroic, while attacking anyone undeserved would be Villainous.
Relations: Since we only pursue mates to produce children, people will often have multiple romantic partners throughout their lives. Though monogamy is the ideal standard when committing to a relationship, as individuals tend to feel "threatened" when their mate actively pursues others. Non-romantic relations generally regards one's family or close friends, with individuals expected to aid family & friends. The guardians of children are also expected to listen to their opinions, but as long as the child doesn't die in their care none worry too much. Given the scattering of settlements from each other, obeying the law is secondary to surviving.
Servants: Individuals who either make a living obeying others, or for some reason have to obey others (such as thieves being punished for their crimes for example). What official servants are rewarded tends to vary, with some just content to serve or others wanting items of value. When one has nothing to trade or any Ain its not unusual for one to work free to earn the items they want or to pay off debts. This is primarily based on their age & weight (so a one hundred pound 14 year old would work fifty hours over seven days). The use of Shells or artificial life as servants tend to be divisive though, mainly based on how much self they can express. Though some find it wrong regardless, while others find it weird mortals are even servants at all when created life works better.
Sexuality: The majority of humans mainly have children out of a sense of duty, with little care for the act needed. However, a minority of people actually like it and even try to do so without producing children as a result. Though while this minority has been painted as evil due to their association with crime, this has been acknowledged as happenstance than an intrinsic element. Doesn't stop people from being weirded out by sexuals either way or even parents casting out their deviant children. Of further note, upon parenting more than three children individuals will be increasingly more likely of being accused of deviancy the more children they produce.
Trade: Primarily a system based on value, shop owners will prioritize items they want or find interesting. Thus, all assortments of items can be found and alchemists will commonly flood shops or traders with enchanted items. Though, so that a single person can't clean out an entire store the weight of an object is used to limit how much one can purchase. For example, something weighing five pounds can be used to buy items collectively weighing five pounds. The value of an item and the shopkeeper's desire for it also affects its price, such as Easterner clothing going up to hundreds at times while a stick or rock of any size would be near-worthless. Since many valuable items are often difficult to move, Tinkerer has manufactured coins he calls Ain (coming in numerical values of fives) to ease purchase.
Worship: Over the course of time, mortals have come to worship the Gods. Some become celibate so they can focus on emulating their beloved God, while others preach about the glory of their God. Though they come in many forms, those that worship entities outside the Twenty Gods are seen as cults. While they may flourish in some places and collapse in others, cults aren't taken very seriously at large. However, a recent anti-God cult known as The Bloodied Rose Chain has been verbally assaulting the Twenty Gods. While seen no different from the others at first, the recent Humonculi attacks has only fueled their hatred of the Gods. Led on by their leader Zane Richardson, a young man, members of the Bloodied Rose Chain have started to become aggressive and rogue members have even attacked Godworshipers.
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Bestiary:
Angels: While purely fictional beings outside of magic replications, they are known as elegant pale humanoids with two feathered wings growing from their back. Described as good, heroic creatures that desire order their name is used to describe an ideal person. Though the exact abilities of Angels vary from tale to tale, they commonly are given magical aptitude and shape-shifting abilities. It is also somewhat common to depict Angels as fun-loving beings, and even the occasional prankster.
Beastkin: Those mutated and blessed by Bestial, Beastkin were once ordinary humans who now closer resemble another animal. While gaining new abilities due to their altered biology, their real blessing is gaining the ability to understand their animal of choice. In addition they can assume any form between their default and a full-fledged individual of their chosen animal. Thus the extent of their mutations in their base form is mainly cosmetic, but since the strength is dependent on how animal-like they are more mutated forms are chosen nonetheless in the event they get locked in it.
Cubi: Depraved shape-shifting creatures, they assume the form of humans to trick foolish mortals into being their mates (mainly because other Cubi aren't fun to them). Since they're such wretched creatures, they are known to try stealing someone's lover for themselves. Though, while befitting the twisted prankster that is Trickster, it has claimed the Cubi have no relation to it.
Cureforgers: Having wanted to help others, they were blessed with divine powers by Lagoon. Now capable of healing people by touch, they can also walk on water and safely dive into it as well. Though, they cannot heal the soul or remove tumors through their power alone. However, most Cureforgers already had experience with biological magics or medical aid with the blessing mainly making their job easier.
Dawnbreakers: Empowered by God Somber, they are few in number but make up for their ability to produce any construct out of darkness. Each construct has the rough strength of tempered steel, but they can only last one hit if not directly held. However they can be produced in any open space, so as to drop constructs from above or launch forward ones with great speed. The more complicated a construct is takes longer to create however, and the more rapidly they create constructs the more likely they'll exhaust their bodies.
Demons: The classical counter to Angels, Demons are just as fictional. While Demons are commonly portrayed as dark-colored humanoids with bat wings to contrast the Angel, they're also portrayed much more varied likely due to the unfortunate implications. While many darker-skinned humans don't mind, since Demons are fictional anyways nobody really cares about adhering to a general concept. Though Demons are mostly associated with darkness, with the Possessor variant even as a blob of darkness. Somber is either okay with this or never even read about Demons as he's generally used as a base for humanoid Demon designs.
Doppelgangers: Unknown how they came to be, Doppelgangers have nonetheless been identified as a Humonculus-descended species. Known primarily for their ability to flawlessly impersonate others, there are only three ways for a Doppelganger to be outed: For someone to have potent enough magic to read their true mind, be able to force them to revert to their true form, or for a Doppelganger to produce a hybrid child (which will have black lines leaking darkness assuming the parent was an Unmarked Human). Though while they can flawlessly impersonate others, most Doppelgangers are known to replace the dead or missing (assuming they're not responsible in the first place). Their true form, however, is very reminiscent of a child composed of wispy darkness. While technically genderless as a result, they'll quickly assign themselves a gender best fitting their personality. While the exact number or whereabouts of Doppelgangers isn't certain, they're generally known as lonely beings that just want to belong.
Dragons: One of the most powerful naturally occurring species, they come in many forms and types yet share one thing in common: Their complete refusal to obey humankind. Combined with their potent magic and powerful attributes, dragons are never to be messed with. In fact, trying to slay a dragon ultimately comes down to how quickly you can attack it while avoiding all of its murderous attempts. Though dragons are few and far between on the Western Continent, mostly dwelling somewhere away from humans. However, they're apparently plentiful on the Eastern Continent. Of note, since Dragons are a naturally occurring species "half-dragons" can only be made through magic. The constructed offspring will quickly gain the hatred of pure dragons, seen as a symbol of oppression to them.
Elfs: Long-lived humanoids that has magic in the blood, their most distinguishing features are their pointed ears and general vulpine structure. Commonly possessed with shades of blue, black or white (if not two or all at once) for hair and eyes their irises are usually pointed as well. Befitting the fact they came from a kingdom inside the Frozenspine Mountain, they're highly resistance to cold & proficient with liquid based and related magics. In comparison to their pacifistic isolationist ancestors, Elves have become fairly adept with combat in the hope of one day reclaiming their homeland. Though, elves have a harder time adjusting to bright lights and high temperatures than humans. In addition, an elf's child needs magic constantly to feed on during development or else it won't form right (thus they rarely take non-magical mates). However, since Elves develop faster than human and heal better there's a niche interest for Elven mates nonetheless.
Elementals: The general term used to describe a creature born from condensing massive amounts of magical energy into one area, they're commonly wild amorphous creatures at first. For example, a newly made Fire Elemental will end up setting anything they contact on fire. Occasionally as an Elemental learns they'll gain control over their form and instincts, though being pure magical embodiments they're just end up being mindless beasts. Though while many Elementals are a specific flavor of magic, attempts to produce general purpose Magic Elemental nearly always result in sentient beings. Being good however is dependent on how why they were constructed.
Emberwings: Those blessed by Flare, the majority of their power is expressed solely through the two flaming wings they can manifest from their backs. Seen as red angelic wings tattooed on their backs when dormant, they'll harmlessly hover over anything obscuring the back when activated. The shape, size, and temperature of the wings can be freely altered by the Emberwing to fit any number of needs. Though, unless specifically trained manipulating these wings is a purely conscious action. Further limiting this power, it is based directly on one's willpower so a flighty Emberwing can't exert as much power than a dedicated warrior for example. Fire cannot hurt them though, and will even accelerate regeneration.
Fleshshifters: Cursed humans manipulated into serving Trickster, the majority of Fleshshifters are either less-than-stable or become so. Granted the ability to assume any humanoid form, they can effectively live forever by abusing that. Though, their true form will only regenerate when in it so should a Fleshshifter revert to a heavily damaged true form they'll die rather quickly. Perhaps just for kicks, Trickster has also gifted his servants with the ability to produce an illusion that renders them as someone's perfect individual. When not messing with them, they'll commonly be sent to spy on people... One of which is often Schizo.
Liches: Used to describe any living creature that had their body and soul fused together intentionally, they become immortal whilst also evading the Reaper's bony hands. While some Liches retain a healthy body, most of these rituals are either flawed or rushed. The result then is any number of abnormalities, ranging from simple decay or dysfunctional organs to uncontrolled bodily movements or even sudden structural collapse. Though, since their body & soul are now one they make for powerful mages and many will even accept the side-effects just for that. Necromancy however becomes much more dangerous to them regardless, being one big soul for them to manipulate.
Maiwhae: Short for "mechanically advanced individuals who hurry along evolution", they serve Tinkerer in his pursuit of knowledge. While not imbued with his powers, a Maiwhae will often be presented equipment or "upgrades" designed by him. In fact, its considered a rather high honor if Tinkerer crafts something out of the metals he makes for a Maiwhae. Though, while the majority of Maiwhae are humans recruited to serve him or the children of past generations sometimes an artificial entity will be made to serve as well.
Oracle: What Temporal calls his servants, they have been given the ability to see into the past and freely change their age. Primarily tasked with recording history, they can also scan the age of things and are able to leave their kingdom as pleased. However, their ability to know the future is limited to symbolic or nonsensical dreams more likely to mean a different timeline altogether. Though, individuals unassociated with Temporal occasionally call themselves Oracles due to liking the word. He's commonly found laughing over their dying bodies, just laughing until they finally die.
Revenants: When a soul, either powerful or convicted, refuses death its body will live on. While some think the death has to be violent, many Revenants never even realized their body died be it poisoning or organ failure. Though, since the body is no longer properly being powered by the soul it'll slowly start to decay. While at first this will simply be bodily decay, the longer the soul holds onto its body the more of itself will be used to keep it going. As body and soul become one, the mind will begin to decay. Eventually, if not stopped, they will become ravenous monsters whose soul can no longer be saved.
Rockbringers: Those blessed by Sahara, they possess a far more limited ability to control earthen material. They can manipulate the movement of small stones, such as the rock spikes they can raise or hurl stone plates. The current variant of Rockbringers subconsciously create sub-dermal armor out of earthen material to raise their attributes, though the older variant can physically feel much better than them due to lacking it. Both versions can float using stone however, and given enough dedication & time can restructure landscapes.
Undead: Deceased bodies resurrected and perverted into new forms to serve the whims of others, there are no real classifications for specific types. Since they are created by Necromancers, they are mainly enchanted than possess true souls. Though, many Undead tend to be difficult to destroy and once destroyed their body will fall apart.
Vampires: While technically a term to refer to any individual or entity that feeds on something to survive (and/or empower itself), it is generally associated with three types of individuals: A created species derived from humanity (theoretically immortal, but grow increasingly weaker the more they don't feed on blood after three days), the result of runic experiments (occasionally gaining their need to feed by accident), and individuals cursed by Schizo or Trickster (psychologically compelled to feed on blood with no benefits to make up). While what a Vampire has to feed on varies (such as emotions or bone marrow), blood consumption is oddly common.
Weres: Another general term, it refers to anyone who transforms into something else unwillingly or because of a specific factor. Werewolves is a rather common type, with many cursers claiming they chose wolf because of Raze's own wolfish nature. The exact rules of a Were varies, with some types passing their curse onto their offspring whilst others applies to the cursed only for example.
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That ends the in-universe section, yet kind of feel like I forgot to address something... Besides that, here's some information that wouldn't really work in the list due to their shortness or general unknowability.
There are no seasons in their world, being an eternal Summer for the most part. Thus since they have no idea of Winter, Westerners would naturally believe Winona is the entire reason snow & ice exists. In addition, I would say the West is vaguely European/Germanic in appearance and in-universe speech if nothing else. Oh, and Schizo has two daughters & a wifey (not common knowledge in-universe).
Regarding the Eastern Continent, the continent itself will not be explored anytime soon. Their general culture is to some extent based off numerous Asian ones, but since I'm not expecting many Easterners I haven't finalized their culture yet. Though it is a male dominant one, with women ideally becoming something like a Yamato Nadeshiko for them. Eastern women that end up extreme doormats is considered too far, and the main reason they're a male dominant culture is more for the sake of their women than themselves. Though they're not racist at all, and in fact only use words like "human" or "monster" as simple descriptors (they're also pretty fine with magical transhumanism and interspecies romance as a result). They're also lousy with ghosts and perfectly okay with Necromancy, mainly because this world is too freakishly huge even for Death to properly scout.
Explaining some about the exquisite clothing and art thing. The Westerners are practically born adventurers, so they ignore developing things like art or reading so they can refine their continent's general adventurousness instead. Easterners are much more subdued explorers, preferring instead to hone their crafts and usually crazy things will come to them anyways (what happens when a good deal of your population can perform advanced magics). They've also invented numerous health and body things, whereas most Westerners don't know what baths are.
Further elaborating on that, Westerners basically have petticoats instead of modern day undergarments. The Eastern Continent, unlike the West, embraces their sexuality and thus make undergarments similar to our modern day ones. One of the main reasons the Eastern Continent isn't being focused on currently is because I intend for the West & East to eventually have a large scale Culture Clash. Though I would say that plenty of people ended up stuck on the other due to boating or magic shenanigans.
Speaking of, Teleportation is too advanced for Westerners to do right though some have produced pretty crappy hammerspace due to winging it. Course a lot of that "winging it" also resulted in portal vortexes, screwy space or just blew up. Easterners can actually use Teleportation Magics, but need relay points to safely send things about. They could perform short-range teleports, but generally accepted its not safe enough for living beings.
The West however is the technologically superior continent even without Tinkerer's aid, and exports their technologies to the Easterners (just magic away their waste for example). Oh, and since neither has a really acknowledged central government their continents pretty much went nameless. Upon realizing there's another civilization however convinced them they couldn't just call themselves East & West. They still haven't settled on anything though, with more important things for them to focus on.
Regarding technological advancement, Westerners had invented: Primitive plumbing systems, watermills, carriages, glass and a crap lot of weapons & architectural technologies among other random things. East just magics up stuff once they reached the magical skill they got, though they're pretty good beast riders and like to actually perform their crafts by hand.
Tinkerer's technology is mainly overspecialized, and most of the things he invented so far are stuff we never invented. Though while he has developed radio technology and all sorts of speaking ones, they have yet to create stuff like television or hair dryers. Vehicles are also extremely new tech, with the stable enough prototypical motorcycles provided to Einheit's City Guard so user data can be collected. They also don't have telescopes or magnifying glasses yet, in addition to zero interest in exploring space for now.
Now that I mention it, there's no moon for their planet and not many stars in the sky. The East & West Continents also have overlapping days, separated by more or less five hours. In addition, most inland water sources for the West are either rivers or random ponds & lakes. Magic is often used to distill water from the air, and rain is a rather rare phenomenon for them. When it comes to Western Magic, Fire & Ice are the two most common spell fields.
Well, that's enough random information for now. Anything I haven't mentioned yet is either A) important spoilers (like what's Schizo's mask is hiding), B) stuff I just won't post for now, or C) something I legitimately forgot or didn't consider.
So if anyone's interested, you can ask just about any question and I'll have some sort of answer.
edited 23rd Sep '14 5:07:41 PM by Kkutwar
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."